In Focus: Match 52 - Argentina vs. West Germany, Edgardo Codesal
With six minutes to go, Andreas Brehme nervelessly slotted his penalty past Sergio Goycochea, scoring the only goal of the Italia '90 final to win the World Cup for West Germany. The best team of the whole tournament, and indeed the better team in the final, Franz Beckenbauer's side were deservedly victorious.
But Argentina cried foul. Their route to the final was of a very different mode to the German team, having scraped through three rounds where, on the balance of play, they had probably deserved to lose. The Argentina side were (and still are) incandescent at the performance of the referee in the final.
They felt that the man who had so wronged them was referee Edgardo Codesal from Mexico, who oversaw by far the most eventful World Cup final for the officiating yet. Codesal had sent off two Argentines and, most controversially, awarded a penalty against them with time running out, which had decided it all.
Perhaps, we could even go so far as to say that this is the controversial refereeing performance in the history of (televised) football. A ruthlessly efficient German side, their disorderly, beleaguered Argentine opponents and a referee in charge whose moral compass probably exceeded his technical quality - the match is brilliant sporting drama which certainly stands the test of time, over thirty years on too.
But Argentina cried foul. Their route to the final was of a very different mode to the German team, having scraped through three rounds where, on the balance of play, they had probably deserved to lose. The Argentina side were (and still are) incandescent at the performance of the referee in the final.
They felt that the man who had so wronged them was referee Edgardo Codesal from Mexico, who oversaw by far the most eventful World Cup final for the officiating yet. Codesal had sent off two Argentines and, most controversially, awarded a penalty against them with time running out, which had decided it all.
Perhaps, we could even go so far as to say that this is the controversial refereeing performance in the history of (televised) football. A ruthlessly efficient German side, their disorderly, beleaguered Argentine opponents and a referee in charge whose moral compass probably exceeded his technical quality - the match is brilliant sporting drama which certainly stands the test of time, over thirty years on too.
My report on how the Italia 90' final was officiated.
Refereeing Highlights
Appointment
Edgardo Codesal's performance in the dramatic quarterfinal between Cameroon and England (report) recommended himself as the compromise option that they couldn't refuse - and indeed, FIFA appointed the naturalised-Mexican to referee the fourteenth World Cup final between Argentina and West Germany in Rome. Codesal experienced a slightly 'weird' route to the final without doubt. On reflection, I believe that of all his appointments for World Cup 1990 (including the Israel vs. Colombia playoff), point towards exactly the same resume: a solid and confederationally-neutral referee, earned trust for a big occasion, and who could deal with potentially problematic teams with his law-enforcer style.
I am sure that this formula works for each match: once FIFA didn't want to send a European to Tel Aviv for the playoff, Codesal. Wanting to save other UEFA refs for the hosts but needing someone who could deal with the rough USA, Codesal. And the same premise for his quarterfinal match where he announced himself, awarding three correct penalties and joining only José Ramiz Wright in 1990 as being able to tame the often agricultural Cameroon side who had caused many problems for the officials. Being used pretty sparingly in the tournament was a great advantage for Codesal in winning the World Cup final appointment too. His 'big stage' performance came at just the right time. His main rival for the gig, Joël Quiniou, came from the same confederation as one of the teams, and had already officiated the other (in the second round). The stars were very much aligning for the Mexican.
I am sure that this formula works for each match: once FIFA didn't want to send a European to Tel Aviv for the playoff, Codesal. Wanting to save other UEFA refs for the hosts but needing someone who could deal with the rough USA, Codesal. And the same premise for his quarterfinal match where he announced himself, awarding three correct penalties and joining only José Ramiz Wright in 1990 as being able to tame the often agricultural Cameroon side who had caused many problems for the officials. Being used pretty sparingly in the tournament was a great advantage for Codesal in winning the World Cup final appointment too. His 'big stage' performance came at just the right time. His main rival for the gig, Joël Quiniou, came from the same confederation as one of the teams, and had already officiated the other (in the second round). The stars were very much aligning for the Mexican.
In addition, Argentina had become increasingly unhinged and conspiratorial as the tournament had progressed. By the time of the final, they had convinced themselves that FIFA would do anything to stop them retaining the trophy they had won in 1986. A South American team on European soil, having knocked the host nation out too, it was them against the world as they saw it. This argued also in Codesal's favour: first, unlike European Quiniou, he was confederationally neutral. Also of significance was their style differences - while the Frenchman had succeeded in Brazil vs. Argentina, it seemed that Codesal was better-placed (and indeed FIFA had appointed him) to deal with very rough and unsporting play.
Somewhat ironically for Quiniou, who was not a bad front-runner candidate at all, maybe some of his political calculations had somewhat backfired. For instance, if he had awarded Argentina the clear penalty against Brazil in the final seconds of their second round tie (clip), not only would he have been more in the 'good books' of the Argentine association, he would have given a 'tougher' and more uncompromising image of himself as a referee. When we compare that the courageous (and correct) impression of Codesal in awarding three penalties kicks in the Cameroon vs. England quarterfinal, it is the Mexican who came out better as the man for fulfilling the brief of "dealing with Argentina". If Italy had beaten Argentina in their penalty competition it would surely have been Quiniou, but as it was, not to be. His appointment as linesman in a semifinal was 'preparation' for this outcome, and the third place playoff 'compensation'.
Also, I think the linesman element probably helped Codesal a bit too. In appointing a confederationally-neutral referee, they could easily 'balance' the appointment in this regard, by giving one flag to a UEFA official, and the other to a referee from CONMEBOL. That is indeed what FIFA did, appointing both the European (Michał Listkiewicz from Poland) and South American (Armando Pérez Hoyos of Colombia) 'specialist linesmen' to the game. Options were extremely limited on this front. More-or-less, both of them were the last men standing. Really, it was more their designated roles through the competition as 'linesmen' only, than great performances, which argued for their respective designations to the big finale.
Both Listkiewicz and Pérez Hoyos had huge strokes of luck to get them there. For the Pole, I really wonder if Peter Mikkelsen might have stood in his place if FIFA had been feasibly able to appoint him. For sure, the Dane was the better of the two at Vautrot's side in the semi. However, his role in visibly recommending the ejection of Argentina's Ricardo Giusti (clip) virtually ruled him out. So, Listkiewicz. Pérez Hoyos benefitted from the decision to only retain one other CONMEBOL ref besides him (Wright). If FIFA had kept Carlos Maciel or even Elías Jácome for the last eight matches, I'm sure that Pérez Hoyos would have been expelled from the tournament after his bad mistake in the quarterfinals (clip). However, with no South American besides him to work at Wright's side, doubts were swallowed and the Colombian would continue. With no major problems in his semifinal inset, Pérez Hoyos had a path to the final.
To be brutally honest, selling these appointments as 'the specialist linesmen' and wishing for the best was about as good as FIFA could hope for. The only other options remaining would have been Codesal (who was referee) and maybe Mauro, who would have been conceived as a too political choice, putting unnecessary pressure on the officials before a whistle blown. In a way, I'm sure that FIFA thought that the linesmen were kind of all as bad as each other in 1990. Sepp Blatter quipped, "the performances would have been much better if we'd have put led in their flags", and he is not really wrong. Given that specialist linesmen had already been de facto agreed for 1994 at this point, Listkiewicz/Pérez Hoyos's appointments were a logical consequence. To complete the quartet was thirty year old Peter Mikkelsen as reserve referee. As an interesting (and quite obvious) note: FIFA had explicitly instructed that the Dane would take over if Codesal got injured. For all other fifty-one matches in 1990, it would have been the senior linesman to do so.
Also, I think the linesman element probably helped Codesal a bit too. In appointing a confederationally-neutral referee, they could easily 'balance' the appointment in this regard, by giving one flag to a UEFA official, and the other to a referee from CONMEBOL. That is indeed what FIFA did, appointing both the European (Michał Listkiewicz from Poland) and South American (Armando Pérez Hoyos of Colombia) 'specialist linesmen' to the game. Options were extremely limited on this front. More-or-less, both of them were the last men standing. Really, it was more their designated roles through the competition as 'linesmen' only, than great performances, which argued for their respective designations to the big finale.
Both Listkiewicz and Pérez Hoyos had huge strokes of luck to get them there. For the Pole, I really wonder if Peter Mikkelsen might have stood in his place if FIFA had been feasibly able to appoint him. For sure, the Dane was the better of the two at Vautrot's side in the semi. However, his role in visibly recommending the ejection of Argentina's Ricardo Giusti (clip) virtually ruled him out. So, Listkiewicz. Pérez Hoyos benefitted from the decision to only retain one other CONMEBOL ref besides him (Wright). If FIFA had kept Carlos Maciel or even Elías Jácome for the last eight matches, I'm sure that Pérez Hoyos would have been expelled from the tournament after his bad mistake in the quarterfinals (clip). However, with no South American besides him to work at Wright's side, doubts were swallowed and the Colombian would continue. With no major problems in his semifinal inset, Pérez Hoyos had a path to the final.
To be brutally honest, selling these appointments as 'the specialist linesmen' and wishing for the best was about as good as FIFA could hope for. The only other options remaining would have been Codesal (who was referee) and maybe Mauro, who would have been conceived as a too political choice, putting unnecessary pressure on the officials before a whistle blown. In a way, I'm sure that FIFA thought that the linesmen were kind of all as bad as each other in 1990. Sepp Blatter quipped, "the performances would have been much better if we'd have put led in their flags", and he is not really wrong. Given that specialist linesmen had already been de facto agreed for 1994 at this point, Listkiewicz/Pérez Hoyos's appointments were a logical consequence. To complete the quartet was thirty year old Peter Mikkelsen as reserve referee. As an interesting (and quite obvious) note: FIFA had explicitly instructed that the Dane would take over if Codesal got injured. For all other fifty-one matches in 1990, it would have been the senior linesman to do so.
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I also want to take the opportunity to state this - there was no fix between Codesal and his father-in-law who sat in the committee, Javier Arriaga Muñiz, to give away the final to a relative. Selecting the referees for the most important match in the football world simply doesn't work like that. Ironically enough - the final is probably the least relevant of all Codesal's appointments with regards to any influence from Arriaga. One can point to previous assignments, such as his linesman and reserve appointments to a quarterfinal and semifinal in 1986 for instance, and credibly ask the question, but in terms of getting the final in 1990, no, there would have been nothing Arriaga could have done besides working as an individual committee member arguing his case. Mexico's significance in FIFA during the Havelange days through Guillermo Cañedo surely helped too, but one can't really say more than that.
Indeed, Codesal married in 1974, and had only moved to Mexico in 1980 with his wife and three children, after the death of his father the previous year, in order to better support his family with his medical work (he was a gynaecologist). He was elevated straight to the top in Mexico, thanks in no small part to Arriaga. But Codesal's father deeply influenced him - José María Codesal was a top referee in Uruguay, and Codesal only a 'naturalised' Mexican, a Uruguayan of birth. José María had attended two World Cups, and desperately yearned to referee a final himself, but never did. He told his son that if he was to have refereed the final, he would retire immediately post the final - there was nothing better you could achieve in football after that. Edgardo followed his lead, and did exactly that; his big final was his last ever match as an active referee. The influence of his father, who had taken him as a child to attend many top matches in the 1950s and 1960s in the stadium and died eleven years short of watching his son take charge of the World Cup final itself, was very strong on Edgardo Codesal. Perhaps no match showed it better than his last.
Indeed, Codesal married in 1974, and had only moved to Mexico in 1980 with his wife and three children, after the death of his father the previous year, in order to better support his family with his medical work (he was a gynaecologist). He was elevated straight to the top in Mexico, thanks in no small part to Arriaga. But Codesal's father deeply influenced him - José María Codesal was a top referee in Uruguay, and Codesal only a 'naturalised' Mexican, a Uruguayan of birth. José María had attended two World Cups, and desperately yearned to referee a final himself, but never did. He told his son that if he was to have refereed the final, he would retire immediately post the final - there was nothing better you could achieve in football after that. Edgardo followed his lead, and did exactly that; his big final was his last ever match as an active referee. The influence of his father, who had taken him as a child to attend many top matches in the 1950s and 1960s in the stadium and died eleven years short of watching his son take charge of the World Cup final itself, was very strong on Edgardo Codesal. Perhaps no match showed it better than his last.
Big Decisions
The final was very challenging to officiate, and was full of important and key incidents. Below is a montage of all the 'KMIs' from the final, ordered chronologically as listed below. Unlike other reports, I will incorporate analysis of these scenes into the main analysis, but video clips are easily accessed here.
As follows:
15' - Potential second yellow card to Gustavo Dezotti (SPA challenge)
57' - Potential penalty to West Germany (pushing)
58' - Potential penalty to West Germany (goalkeeper challenge)
61' - Striking offence by Guido Buchwald
64' - Striking offence by Gustavo Dezotti, then challenge by Diego Maradona
65' - Red card given to Pedro Monzón (Serious Foul Play)
78' - Potential penalty to Argentina (challenge)
83' - Penalty given to West Germany (tackle) + yellow card to Pedro Troglio (dissent)
87' - Red card given to Gustavo Dezotti (Violent Conduct) + yellow card to Diego Maradona (dissent)
78' - Potential penalty to Argentina (challenge)
83' - Penalty given to West Germany (tackle) + yellow card to Pedro Troglio (dissent)
87' - Red card given to Gustavo Dezotti (Violent Conduct) + yellow card to Diego Maradona (dissent)
Match
This was Edgardo Codesal's last ever match as a referee, and besides being his most important, perhaps it was his toughest of all. While Argentina's self-destruction is well-documented, actually this game was hardest mostly for being a very well-played and intense piece of football by both teams, in addition to the high number of tricky key match incidents he would face. Though this Argentina side and their crudeness, of course, increased the difficulty further, and only grew as the match went on.
Codesal had his hands full even before the match kicked off. Argentina's anthem was booed most vociferously by the vast majority of spectators at the Stadio Olimpico. This infuriated Diego Maradona, who shouted some rather choice words back. As per Codesal, two things happened: 1) it went through his head that he could actually have sent Maradona off(!) before kickoff, and, 2) he tried to calm Maradona down at the coin toss before Lotthar Matthäus arrived, but to no avail. Such a bad-blooded atmosphere for a final, especially one played on neutral territory, can only have contributed to Argentina's sense that everyone had it in for them. Any referee would have been in big trouble trying to keep this team under control.
Accordingly, the match started in a rather intense way. Particularly against that backdrop, I was very surprised by two play on calls made by the Codesal in the second minute, separated by about ten seconds (from 01:42 in the highlights video). These were perfect opportunities for the referee to give a short, sharp whistle, calm the players down and underline his authority. But alas, play on. In the same vein, the first important moment followed three minutes later. Actually, this individual scene from the final manages to perfectly convey both Codesal's strengths and weaknesses as a referee quite perfectly (03:10).
Codesal awards West Germany a freekick on the edge of the Argentina penalty area, alleging a trip by Roberto Sensini on Pierre Littbarski. The decision itself is doubtful-to-wrong in my opinion, Littbarski was crowded out and basically fell of his own momentum. Foul recognition was not really a strength of the Mexican ref, who opted for a flow-focused (or rather, control-flow-focused) approach to delineating between fair and foul actions. In this situation, all of the players have basically accepted 'play on', but then a second later, Codesal comes in with a whistle to give a freekick. Here, he basically preferred not to take the 'risk' of letting the game continue, and opted to blow for a freekick in a rather promising position instead.
Argentina players, six of them, then start mobbing the referee in protest on the edge of the penalty area, at the place of the decision. Codesal's reaction is fascinating - the first thing to note is that he never takes the whistle out of his mouth (he is, as discussed at length by me, of the neck-lanyard-whistle-in-mouth style of officiating). With very 'distant' gestures (he conveys nothing(!) in terms of facial expressions), he first points at Sensini to signal that the offence was his. Then he runs immediately to set up the ten yards for the freekick, still not having interacted with the mobbing players in any way. One must put this choice in context a bit: referees were under strict instruction to 'get the game back on' quickly, minimising delays from ceremonial freekicks, cautioning players who try to do the opposite, and so on.
However, this was rather a pretense in Codesal's case. On a game management / personality level, he simply made the conscious decision to deal with the mobbing in a weak way. He ran away from the dissenting players! The actual seconds when he is walking away to set the wall in place perfectly displays how oxymoronic Codesal was: with his 'impressive' physical figure (he was clearly quite muscular + very fit), confident gait and decisive gestures, we had the image of very strong leadership figure on the pitch. The reality was a bit different. Really, Codesal relied on that image, plus the whistle-in-mouth style (physically preventing communication!), to mask over some of his deficiencies as a referee. I had the strong feeling that he never could (have the self-belief to) take the initiative in the game as a leader.
Of course, the dissenting did not stop after that, with Gustavo Dezotti being the most vociferous in his protestations, now arguing that Germany had moved the ball forward with the ref's back turned. Many a referee would have just bourne those dissents, especially in the sixth minute of the World Cup final, and just tried to carry on notwithstanding. Greatly to Codesal's credit, not him. The Mexican official wanted to show that he wouldn't tolerate such behaviour, and decided to book Dezotti - pulling him out and isolating him too. Dezotti was quite a good embodiment of the whole Argentina team in 1990, if one is to be slightly vulgar, a nasty piece of work. Codesal made a very good example of him.
Argentina players, six of them, then start mobbing the referee in protest on the edge of the penalty area, at the place of the decision. Codesal's reaction is fascinating - the first thing to note is that he never takes the whistle out of his mouth (he is, as discussed at length by me, of the neck-lanyard-whistle-in-mouth style of officiating). With very 'distant' gestures (he conveys nothing(!) in terms of facial expressions), he first points at Sensini to signal that the offence was his. Then he runs immediately to set up the ten yards for the freekick, still not having interacted with the mobbing players in any way. One must put this choice in context a bit: referees were under strict instruction to 'get the game back on' quickly, minimising delays from ceremonial freekicks, cautioning players who try to do the opposite, and so on.
However, this was rather a pretense in Codesal's case. On a game management / personality level, he simply made the conscious decision to deal with the mobbing in a weak way. He ran away from the dissenting players! The actual seconds when he is walking away to set the wall in place perfectly displays how oxymoronic Codesal was: with his 'impressive' physical figure (he was clearly quite muscular + very fit), confident gait and decisive gestures, we had the image of very strong leadership figure on the pitch. The reality was a bit different. Really, Codesal relied on that image, plus the whistle-in-mouth style (physically preventing communication!), to mask over some of his deficiencies as a referee. I had the strong feeling that he never could (have the self-belief to) take the initiative in the game as a leader.
Of course, the dissenting did not stop after that, with Gustavo Dezotti being the most vociferous in his protestations, now arguing that Germany had moved the ball forward with the ref's back turned. Many a referee would have just bourne those dissents, especially in the sixth minute of the World Cup final, and just tried to carry on notwithstanding. Greatly to Codesal's credit, not him. The Mexican official wanted to show that he wouldn't tolerate such behaviour, and decided to book Dezotti - pulling him out and isolating him too. Dezotti was quite a good embodiment of the whole Argentina team in 1990, if one is to be slightly vulgar, a nasty piece of work. Codesal made a very good example of him.
Fascinatingly (German television's angle shows it better, or here), I think Dezotti actually 'wins' this duel with the ref on a personality level. Codesal is leaning slightly backwards, and the Argentina striker invades the Mexican's personal space to shout in his face as he is being booked (look at the finger wag gesture by Codesal to try and save some face!). But Codesal came out of this caution strongly on a game management level. The Argentina players heeded the message that while the Mexican might not have been the strongest personality on the pitch, he wasn't afraid to sanction them when they crossed the line. Look at how they don't dare take even a step forward in the wall from the resulting freekick! It wasn't like Codesal was standing close-by, either. This yellow card helped secure the game after an edgy start.
Edgardo Codesal would go on to complete a good first half. The highlight was a very good and effective verbal warning to Pierre Littbarski after a dissenting gesture towards him (11:45) - Codesal visibly did have the soft skills to connect well with the players, I believe he would have greatly improved as a referee if he had trusted himself to use them more! This being said, I don't think the picture was fully positive at the half either. Firstly, while the Mexican referee showed with his caution to Dezotti (and in his other games too), that he completely understood how to take the initiative using cards, he did become quite passive against borderline offences later in the half (09:50, 10:25, 12:50).
More problematic, I fear, was his foul recognition when in midfield. I never got the impression that Codesal was able to 'deeply' assess duels, and come to a clear and predictable(!) line as to when he was going to blow and when he was going to let play go. A good way to describe some situations which were a series of sequential slightly-chaotic play on calls would be flying by the seat of his pants, a bit. This meant that the Mexican official never really got the game 'under his spell', at any point. Besides that neck-lanyard style which can be spoken about ad nauseam, positioning was an area which rather tripped Codesal up.
I guess with a desire to be close to the ball so that the players could 'feel' his presence (-> match control considerations), the Mexican ref was often too close. Firstly, this impeded him from assessing each situation as well as he could have. It also meant sometimes that he felt quite 'in the way' of the players: not more so than in the second minute of the second half (14:30), when he was hit by the ball which led to a dangerous freekick for West Germany! A classic example of this aforementioned series of chaotic play on calls began the sequence resulting in Völler's dissent caution for bouncing the ball down in protest (15:40). Like Dezotti's, with Völler also pulled out deliberately to slow the game down, this was also a masterclass in how to use yellow cards as a game-management tool. The bookings were now balanced at 1-1.
I guess with a desire to be close to the ball so that the players could 'feel' his presence (-> match control considerations), the Mexican ref was often too close. Firstly, this impeded him from assessing each situation as well as he could have. It also meant sometimes that he felt quite 'in the way' of the players: not more so than in the second minute of the second half (14:30), when he was hit by the ball which led to a dangerous freekick for West Germany! A classic example of this aforementioned series of chaotic play on calls began the sequence resulting in Völler's dissent caution for bouncing the ball down in protest (15:40). Like Dezotti's, with Völler also pulled out deliberately to slow the game down, this was also a masterclass in how to use yellow cards as a game-management tool. The bookings were now balanced at 1-1.
To finish on that point: while a look at the matchsheet and seeing the (same) reasons for all four cautions isn't perhaps a great look for Codesal, that doesn't really give a fair impression. Dezotti's was perhaps also inspired by the "not-retreating" guidelines in 1990 though is best noted as dissent, Völler's was a frustrated action which the Mexican ref punished (rightly) for match control purposes, and then the following two cautions were when Argentina had lost their heads at the end (a different colour would have probably been most appropriate, on an isolated level). Is worth underlining that these weren't four 'cheap' dissent calls!
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And then the big calls came (and came). The last half-an-hour of the final was littered with very big decisions for Edgardo Codesal to take. Pretty much all of them came in very unenviable situations to assess: Augenthaler fell under Goycochea's challenge, no penalty; Monzón lunged in on Klinsmann, he walked (the first in the final, ever); Matthäus escaped after his Calderón duel, and, before Dezotti later also saw red, the big one - penalty, which controversially won it, after Sensini tackled Völler in the box. With the discussion about many of them rumbling on into present day discourse, Codesal can perhaps rue that unlike modern VAR-assisted colleagues, it was only his split-second calls which counted. Let's take a look through them!
The first big penalty call was pre-empted by a smaller one a minute or so prior - Jürgen Klinsmann received a mid-air shove from halftime substitute Pedro Monzón (no prizes for guessing what Bilardo had christened him to do in the second half). While, of course, nobody expected a penalty call in any game - not least a World Cup final - to point spotwards here would have been a quite credible call. Monzón's offence was, actually, pretty clear! For good measure, Monzón then treads on Klinsmann when he is on the ground. The Argentina defender does his best to make it look accidental (enough even to, in the sense of the laws and assessing individual scenes, make 'no action' the best call), but, in reality; deliberate.
Anyhow, we went on. When a minute later Klaus Augenthaler and Sergio Goycochea tangled with each other, it seems everyone - reportedly, both sets of players included - expected Codesal to call a penalty. While Codesal's positional play here was quite bizarre (he just ran really close to the two of them and ended up about mere couple of yards away from the potential foul!), I'd actually back him up on the decision. For me, it was actually a very good play on call. Augenthaler, in 1-on-1 from a slightly wide position, tries to dummy Goycochea, and it seems to me, slightly messes it up. He pushes the ball to the goalkeeper's left, where a number of defenders are. Key, to me, is Augenthaler's next movement - he doesn't follow the ball to its logical position, but instead puts his right foot in the gap between Goycochea's two legs, and then tumbles as part of the same movement. For sure, penalty would have been a widely accepted call (actually: the expected call), but for me, the Mexican referee got it 100% right. Not a dive by Augenthaler, but I don't think he was too clever for Goycochea; there wasn't a foul committed.
In thirteen previous World Cup finals matches, not one player had received an expulsion from the field of play. The unwanted distinction of being the first to be shown shown a red card in football's biggest game went to Pedro Monzón, who was sent off for his sixty-fifth minute tackle on Jürgen Klinsmann: 'Serious Foul Play'. Codesal's decision was, to my mind, technically excellent (even in 1990 days), meriting high praise. The game-management which led to it - perhaps, I might be inclined to say, a trifle less so.
Monzón's tackle on Klinsmann was a crazy act. But part of the explanation for why it happened must come back to the referee who courageously showed the Argentina substitute a straight red card. While Codesal's approach to the first half was successful, his booking of Völler at the start of the second needed to prelude a modified approach, as the game became rougher and more angsty. Néstor Lorenzo's reckless sliding foul on Matthäus merited a caution (18:10), but instead Codesal blew for it the same as a simple freekick. Monzón had obviously been sent on as a 'reducer' to deal with Klinsmann, and his red card foul was preceded by a previous foul from behind on the German striker (19:25). Again, a freekick only.
But really, it was two striking incidents, missed by him, where Codesal really let the game get away from him. Both are included in the video above. First, after an Argentina corner, Guido Buchwald flicks an arm out at Diego Maradona, drawing blood. Sh*t happens, incidents are missed, especially referees until the last fifteen-or-so (maybe even ten) years, weren't really trained to pick up on striking offences. But Codesal multiplies the damage from this missed incident exponentially by his management - the Mexican never goes out to Maradona, never attempts to take control of the scene, he just gestures him up from a distance and orders the game restarted. The players took note, the temperature rose.
If Buchwald's elbow had been missed by the officials, it certainly hadn't by (all of) the players. Not least Dezotti. A few minutes later, he would take hit out at Jürgen Kohler, committing what appears to be a very clear violent conduct elbow on him in an aerial duel (the camera just about catches it). Maradona was also furious from this moment, and he challenges for a ball at head height with his foot, catching Buchwald in the face. Codesal just decides to underplay this incident, awarding an indirect freekick for dangerous play, without too much fuss. The Mexican, by his passivity in these ten-ish minutes, had allowed a revengeful undercurrent to enter the match (never there in the first half). The result would soon become clear.
A shade less than twenty seconds after play had restarted from the indirect freekick, Monzón sent Klinsmann crashing down. And what a crude tackle it was. For certain, Klinsmann played his role too, but such theatrics were 'equal' to the brutality of Monzón's attack on him. Premeditatedly, he flies into the opponent whom he tightly marked for the whole half, raking his studs just below Klinsmann's knee. It was a horrible tackle, well worthy of a red card in my opinion. Also in 1990. Codesal's call is really excellent, and the context of it needs underlining: the only other SFP call in the whole tournament was for a prison-worthy offence (clip; we'll ignore Kana-Biyik's too). And this was the very (World Cup!) final itself.
In thirteen previous World Cup finals matches, not one player had received an expulsion from the field of play. The unwanted distinction of being the first to be shown shown a red card in football's biggest game went to Pedro Monzón, who was sent off for his sixty-fifth minute tackle on Jürgen Klinsmann: 'Serious Foul Play'. Codesal's decision was, to my mind, technically excellent (even in 1990 days), meriting high praise. The game-management which led to it - perhaps, I might be inclined to say, a trifle less so.
Monzón's tackle on Klinsmann was a crazy act. But part of the explanation for why it happened must come back to the referee who courageously showed the Argentina substitute a straight red card. While Codesal's approach to the first half was successful, his booking of Völler at the start of the second needed to prelude a modified approach, as the game became rougher and more angsty. Néstor Lorenzo's reckless sliding foul on Matthäus merited a caution (18:10), but instead Codesal blew for it the same as a simple freekick. Monzón had obviously been sent on as a 'reducer' to deal with Klinsmann, and his red card foul was preceded by a previous foul from behind on the German striker (19:25). Again, a freekick only.
But really, it was two striking incidents, missed by him, where Codesal really let the game get away from him. Both are included in the video above. First, after an Argentina corner, Guido Buchwald flicks an arm out at Diego Maradona, drawing blood. Sh*t happens, incidents are missed, especially referees until the last fifteen-or-so (maybe even ten) years, weren't really trained to pick up on striking offences. But Codesal multiplies the damage from this missed incident exponentially by his management - the Mexican never goes out to Maradona, never attempts to take control of the scene, he just gestures him up from a distance and orders the game restarted. The players took note, the temperature rose.
If Buchwald's elbow had been missed by the officials, it certainly hadn't by (all of) the players. Not least Dezotti. A few minutes later, he would take hit out at Jürgen Kohler, committing what appears to be a very clear violent conduct elbow on him in an aerial duel (the camera just about catches it). Maradona was also furious from this moment, and he challenges for a ball at head height with his foot, catching Buchwald in the face. Codesal just decides to underplay this incident, awarding an indirect freekick for dangerous play, without too much fuss. The Mexican, by his passivity in these ten-ish minutes, had allowed a revengeful undercurrent to enter the match (never there in the first half). The result would soon become clear.
A shade less than twenty seconds after play had restarted from the indirect freekick, Monzón sent Klinsmann crashing down. And what a crude tackle it was. For certain, Klinsmann played his role too, but such theatrics were 'equal' to the brutality of Monzón's attack on him. Premeditatedly, he flies into the opponent whom he tightly marked for the whole half, raking his studs just below Klinsmann's knee. It was a horrible tackle, well worthy of a red card in my opinion. Also in 1990. Codesal's call is really excellent, and the context of it needs underlining: the only other SFP call in the whole tournament was for a prison-worthy offence (clip; we'll ignore Kana-Biyik's too). And this was the very (World Cup!) final itself.
I want to be clear - I am not just praising this call because simultaneously: a) it took courage, and, b) it is a case of SFP nowadays (and not in 1990). This was just a perfect case of a referee detecting and rightly punishing an offence in his era. How it came about tempers my enthusiasm for it, but without doubt, this was a very good call, no question. Much is made about Codesal's showing procedure, and indeed, it is probably a touch too theatrical. But, the Mexican was quite right that this decision (contrary to the second red), needed to be produced with some 'gusto' in order to succeed. On that front, he didn't disappoint!
Something quite fascinating happened after the red card: the game, and especially the atmosphere in the stadium, immediately became completely flat. It was really quite strange, as if nobody really knew what to make of the red card. In a rare upfield foray in this period, Argentina gained a corner.
The first thing to say is: surely the corner decision itself was wrong (26:05)? By Codesal's demeanour, it seems obvious that despite having a clear view, he really wasn't sure. To put the game in context, by this point it was kind of 'going nowhere', with a very flat atmosphere in the stands. I also had the feeling that on a game-management level, Codesal had already, kind of, 'shot his shoot', and wasn't left with that much munition after the red card decision. Argentine dissenting gestures, though each time relatively small, became more frequent, and the Mexican ref couldn't really do much to arrest that. Anyway, the corner.
The first thing to say is: surely the corner decision itself was wrong (26:05)? By Codesal's demeanour, it seems obvious that despite having a clear view, he really wasn't sure. To put the game in context, by this point it was kind of 'going nowhere', with a very flat atmosphere in the stands. I also had the feeling that on a game-management level, Codesal had already, kind of, 'shot his shoot', and wasn't left with that much munition after the red card decision. Argentine dissenting gestures, though each time relatively small, became more frequent, and the Mexican ref couldn't really do much to arrest that. Anyway, the corner.
From it, came the duel between Gabriel Calderón and Lotthär Matthäus, which forms the centrepiece of the Argentine conspiracy theory. It was a clear foul (we can talk about that), Codesal was in a perfect position (he wasn't; again, much too close), and television deliberately didn't show replays because they wanted West Germany to win (well...) - they say. About the penalty call at least, Argentina would seem to have a credible claim. Calderón tweeted a video of the play, from a previously unseen angle (clip). The first thing to underline is what an awful position the Mexican referee finds himself in. This time, I don't think we can really blame him though: he was just standing where referees were told to stand from corners at the time, the same thing that sunk Fredriksson earlier in the tournament (link). Codesal is looking at the situation from the wrong angle, and probably a player runs in his way at the decisive moment too.
The first important thing to note is that the prod away on the ball is by Matthäus, not Calderón - evaluating this scene would be very different if the contrary was the case. For me, there is something simply very 'weird' about this whole scene, which certainly isn't helped by the lack of replays (host broadcaster RAI included the situation in the post-match highlights compilation shown around the world, often important situations weren't replayed, there is no conspiracy). Matthäus's touch on the ball is admittedly not very coordinated, but there is something about what Calderón does which is tricky to assess. It does seem that he bends both his legs preparing his own fall, before putting all his weight on his left (the one interlocking with Matthäus) before they clash, and then Calderón kind of stumbles over. I have the feeling that Matthäus was trying to pull his legs away, and Calderón realised he was running 'into traffic', but it is impossible to be sure. There are arguments for both calls here. Honestly my preference would be play on, even besides my view that such a situation was not clear enough to decide a World Cup final.
Then followed the big one. In the eighty-third minute of the final, Edgardo Codesal awarded a penalty to West Germany, after a tackle by Roberto Sensini on Rudi Völler inside the penalty area. Below, how Edgardo Codesal described the situation in a recent interview for Simon Hart's book on Italia '90.
‘The Argentina player tries to play it with his right foot which, from a biomechanical point of view, is very difficult,’ Codesal points out. ‘This kind of action you can manage if you use your left. When you use the wrong foot, you aren’t going to reach the ball as it’s too far and, it’s quite probable there’ll be contact. ‘There’s a shot from behind, where you see what I could see, and you can see the Argentina player tries to play it but doesn’t touch the ball, and instead touches the opponent. And with his right forearm, he makes contact with the German player’s waist, so for me, there was never any doubt.’
The first important thing to note is that the prod away on the ball is by Matthäus, not Calderón - evaluating this scene would be very different if the contrary was the case. For me, there is something simply very 'weird' about this whole scene, which certainly isn't helped by the lack of replays (host broadcaster RAI included the situation in the post-match highlights compilation shown around the world, often important situations weren't replayed, there is no conspiracy). Matthäus's touch on the ball is admittedly not very coordinated, but there is something about what Calderón does which is tricky to assess. It does seem that he bends both his legs preparing his own fall, before putting all his weight on his left (the one interlocking with Matthäus) before they clash, and then Calderón kind of stumbles over. I have the feeling that Matthäus was trying to pull his legs away, and Calderón realised he was running 'into traffic', but it is impossible to be sure. There are arguments for both calls here. Honestly my preference would be play on, even besides my view that such a situation was not clear enough to decide a World Cup final.
Then followed the big one. In the eighty-third minute of the final, Edgardo Codesal awarded a penalty to West Germany, after a tackle by Roberto Sensini on Rudi Völler inside the penalty area. Below, how Edgardo Codesal described the situation in a recent interview for Simon Hart's book on Italia '90.
‘The Argentina player tries to play it with his right foot which, from a biomechanical point of view, is very difficult,’ Codesal points out. ‘This kind of action you can manage if you use your left. When you use the wrong foot, you aren’t going to reach the ball as it’s too far and, it’s quite probable there’ll be contact. ‘There’s a shot from behind, where you see what I could see, and you can see the Argentina player tries to play it but doesn’t touch the ball, and instead touches the opponent. And with his right forearm, he makes contact with the German player’s waist, so for me, there was never any doubt.’
I don't actually disagree with anything Codesal said about probably the most important(?) referee decision in the history of the World Cup. Sensini reproaches himself for the tackle, and he was certainly unwise in the extreme to go for the ball in the box like that. He doesn't play it either. That being said, I must be honest, personally I find the decision pretty problematic. Running away from goal, Völler certainly is 'contacted' at the hip, but then he falls of his own accord. I'm certain that Sensini tried to complete a 'block' tackle (trapping the ball with the leg), rather than trying to slide in and kick the ball away with his foot. Völler runs wide, and goes down when Sensini's leg is 'impeding' where he wants to place his own. The big issue here is that because Völler runs wider, and Sensini pulls out a bit, the German can actually place his leg down where he wanted to, and could have carried on basically without any problem. The touch at the hip must have put Völler off a bit, but not really more than that. That makes this decision, if technically acceptable, quite an unsatisfactory one in my opinion (with the two prior appeals in mind, too).
I also suspect that Codesal gave it because he thought that Sensini simply took Völler out and that he had no choice. I wonder if the Mexican's heart sank just a little bit the first time that he saw it again on television after the match: the penalty being much 'greyer' than for what he gave it. To be fair, positionally, it was impossible for the referee to be exactly sure what happened, and any decision would have been something of an educated guess. Actually, linesman Armando Pérez Hoyos had a slightly better view (the penalty call was wrong, in his view), but cooperation in this situation was virtually impossible. Argentina completely lost it at this point, and by the book at least, their behaviour deserved multiple cards of the red variety, as opposed to the single yellow (Troglio) given. The moments between Codesal walking the ball to the spot and Brehme slotting the penalty in are very interesting on a personality level, and worth seeing.
Of course, with their conspiracies now 'confirmed' and the final having slipped away, Argentina continued to lose it, and were shown a second red card which - like the first - was a technically excellent refereeing decision. If such a scene had occurred in the first half, say, with the score at nil-all, then a red card would (hypothetically) have been exaggerated, but given the context, it was the best practical call, no question. Dezotti chooses to grab Kohler around the neck in order to retrieve the ball. If the Argentina striker was really desperate to save the game, I'm sure he'd have tried to the get the ball back in a rather different and less violent way. Codesal had to sent him off, really. Argentina's behaviour, deliberately bumping into the ref from behind after the red card issued, was quite disgraceful. Again multiple red cards were actually 'required' here, but in the real world, Codesal did well to keep it to a single yellow, for Maradona this time.
Besides a rather reckless intervention by José Serrizuela (34:40) which no players really cared about, the rest of the game was played out as a non-event. After three minutes of additional time played, Edgardo Codesal blew the final whistle. West Germany had won by a goal to nothing, and were World Champions!
I also suspect that Codesal gave it because he thought that Sensini simply took Völler out and that he had no choice. I wonder if the Mexican's heart sank just a little bit the first time that he saw it again on television after the match: the penalty being much 'greyer' than for what he gave it. To be fair, positionally, it was impossible for the referee to be exactly sure what happened, and any decision would have been something of an educated guess. Actually, linesman Armando Pérez Hoyos had a slightly better view (the penalty call was wrong, in his view), but cooperation in this situation was virtually impossible. Argentina completely lost it at this point, and by the book at least, their behaviour deserved multiple cards of the red variety, as opposed to the single yellow (Troglio) given. The moments between Codesal walking the ball to the spot and Brehme slotting the penalty in are very interesting on a personality level, and worth seeing.
Of course, with their conspiracies now 'confirmed' and the final having slipped away, Argentina continued to lose it, and were shown a second red card which - like the first - was a technically excellent refereeing decision. If such a scene had occurred in the first half, say, with the score at nil-all, then a red card would (hypothetically) have been exaggerated, but given the context, it was the best practical call, no question. Dezotti chooses to grab Kohler around the neck in order to retrieve the ball. If the Argentina striker was really desperate to save the game, I'm sure he'd have tried to the get the ball back in a rather different and less violent way. Codesal had to sent him off, really. Argentina's behaviour, deliberately bumping into the ref from behind after the red card issued, was quite disgraceful. Again multiple red cards were actually 'required' here, but in the real world, Codesal did well to keep it to a single yellow, for Maradona this time.
Besides a rather reckless intervention by José Serrizuela (34:40) which no players really cared about, the rest of the game was played out as a non-event. After three minutes of additional time played, Edgardo Codesal blew the final whistle. West Germany had won by a goal to nothing, and were World Champions!
Linesman
While neither Michał Listkiewicz or Armando Pérez Hoyos had a faultless World Cup final, I would say that both the Pole and the Colombian had good performances respectively. Listkiewicz was incorrect to raise his flag on one occasion (09:10), and by the rules of the time, missed an offside flag which led to a partly promising attack for West Germany (11:15). But in general, he wasn't really tested and performed fine. In addition, he came out to try and help Codesal manage the players after the second red card incident.
Armando Pérez Hoyos was always correct in his offside judgements, including playing what seemed to be a very good onside for the Augenthaler penalty appeal (see above). However, a couple of his offside calls were simply guesses from very poor positions, such as a thirtieth minute onside for Argentina (11:00). On that occasion he was 'rooted to the corner flag', and a similar such decision might have denied West Germany a penalty for holding (24:45). Pérez Hoyos was right to flag as Völler was offside, but having correctly followed the second-last defender until Argentina pushed up, the Colombian then ball-watched and was well-behind the play when he then raised his flag. He was (actually) right, but very lucky! I liked his impression as an active and enthusiastic team member during the match.
Expected level marks for both. After the many troubles FIFA had with offside decisions at this World Cup, I'm sure they were very satisfied with their work!
Expected level marks for both. After the many troubles FIFA had with offside decisions at this World Cup, I'm sure they were very satisfied with their work!
Ironically enough, I reckon that the most important offside decision in the final was taken by Codesal himself. Regular viewers know the routine by now: from a freekick the referee gives his linesman the signal to stand level with the goalline as a 'goal judge', while the ref himself stands in line with the second last defender and detects any offside offence. England had what would have probably been a winning goal (wrongly!) disallowed in the semifinal via this route (clip). At least according to the final decision, had Rudi Völler scored from about five yards out (15:35), Codesal would have ruled it out (indirect freekick restart). The decision would have been incorrect, no West German players were offside when the kick was taken.
Aftermath
West Germany were the supreme team of the tournament, and made for deserving champions. Though Franz Beckenbauer retired as coach after the match, the pending reunification pointed to a 1990s dominance of major tournaments by a united Germany team. It didn't work out exactly like that, though they reached two EURO finals in the period. Argentina presented a very new face by USA 1994 under Alfio Basile, and were one of the most exciting teams of the tournament - if not for the psychological 'damage' caused by Maradona's striking out after two games, they might well have won it. When Germany and Argentina played the final in 2014, neither had won a World Cup since their respective triumphs in 1986 and 1990, when Mario Götze ensured that, like in Rome, the title would go to Die Mannschaft.
For Edgardo Codesal, his final whistle here was his final whistle ever blown as a referee - he would retire immediately after the big match. Codesal remained actively involved in Mexican refereeing until quite recently, and in the late 1990s and early 2000s, came back into the big stage. After France 1998, he replaced Mario Rubio Vázquez as the Mexican to sit in the FIFA Referees Committee, and led the refereeing operation at tournaments such as the big Women's World Cup 1999 in the United States and Under-17 World Cup 2001 in Trinidad and Tobago, at the latter of which he states that he courageously defied Sepp Blatter's demand for a confederationally-neutral referee in the final.
Codesal would again find himself at the centre-stage of world football events on a couple of occasions. Firstly, he bravely challenged Jack Warner for the presidency of the North American confederation CONCACAF, but with Warner's wide influence, predictably the Mexican didn't come close to defeating him on the vote. Furthermore, he was of a leading member of referees committee for World Cup 2002 (interesting clip), which of course caused quite a storm. Codesal resigned this role after the tournament, stating there was too much political influence - "we were presented with a list of officials for the tournament drawn up by only politicians, and we had only ten minutes to approve it". Codesal remains an active follower of refereeing on twitter, providing sound and thoughtful analysis to modern games.
Michał Listkiewicz of Poland, despite being 'only' a linesman, gained much notoriety for his work during Italia '90, especially during the final. Accordingly, despite being on the FIFA referees list, Sepp Blatter managed to force his name into World Cup 1994 amongst the linesmen group, where Listkiewicz stood on three matches with ambivalent performances. He also later served as president of the Polish association, but resigned under a cloud of corruption scandals, including the implication of their then-top referee, Grzegorz Gilewski. Like Codesal, Listkiewicz has sat on the FIFA referees committee (for eg. World Cup 2010), and in addition, worked in both Czech Republic and Armenia as their head of elite refereeing. I find Listkiewicz an interesting person - for instance, against protocol, as part of his work at France 1998, he entered the field of play in FIFA jacket and, visible to the world, shook the hands of the trio led by Urs Meier who had just called the United States vs. Iran match, very well in both FIFA's and my opinion. Listkiewicz still works in television commenting on reffing matters, including during UEFA EURO 2020.
Armando Pérez Hoyos, whose day job was as a mathematics teacher, would resume his career as 'main referee' after the tournament. He was in quite a tight race to referee games at World Cup 1994, but was ultimately beaten by the referee of the Barcelona 1992 final, José Torres Cadena. Any Colombian referee of this period had to have quite some nerve to perform his duties - the influence of the drugs trade on their football is storied, including the utterly desperate and tragic murder of referee Álvaro Ortega Madero (he was nine shot times in a car returning from a match, where World Cup 1986 attendee Jesús Díaz was travelling with him). In his games at Italia '90, I indeed had the impression that Pérez Hoyos was a very strong-willed person. It would have been interesting to see him take the whistle for a match.
Finally, Peter Mikkelsen completed an excellent Italia '90 final with his reserve referee appointment, and he would go on to be one of the very top international referees of the 1990s. He was famously in the race to referee the next World Cup final in 1994 right until the very end, but ultimately lost to Sándor Puhl. Mikkelsen was heavily involved in FIFA refereeing after his retirement, and was very well-regarded by colleagues as a dedicated and kind person. Tragically, Mikkelsen died of cancer in January 2019. RIP.
For Edgardo Codesal, his final whistle here was his final whistle ever blown as a referee - he would retire immediately after the big match. Codesal remained actively involved in Mexican refereeing until quite recently, and in the late 1990s and early 2000s, came back into the big stage. After France 1998, he replaced Mario Rubio Vázquez as the Mexican to sit in the FIFA Referees Committee, and led the refereeing operation at tournaments such as the big Women's World Cup 1999 in the United States and Under-17 World Cup 2001 in Trinidad and Tobago, at the latter of which he states that he courageously defied Sepp Blatter's demand for a confederationally-neutral referee in the final.
Codesal would again find himself at the centre-stage of world football events on a couple of occasions. Firstly, he bravely challenged Jack Warner for the presidency of the North American confederation CONCACAF, but with Warner's wide influence, predictably the Mexican didn't come close to defeating him on the vote. Furthermore, he was of a leading member of referees committee for World Cup 2002 (interesting clip), which of course caused quite a storm. Codesal resigned this role after the tournament, stating there was too much political influence - "we were presented with a list of officials for the tournament drawn up by only politicians, and we had only ten minutes to approve it". Codesal remains an active follower of refereeing on twitter, providing sound and thoughtful analysis to modern games.
Michał Listkiewicz of Poland, despite being 'only' a linesman, gained much notoriety for his work during Italia '90, especially during the final. Accordingly, despite being on the FIFA referees list, Sepp Blatter managed to force his name into World Cup 1994 amongst the linesmen group, where Listkiewicz stood on three matches with ambivalent performances. He also later served as president of the Polish association, but resigned under a cloud of corruption scandals, including the implication of their then-top referee, Grzegorz Gilewski. Like Codesal, Listkiewicz has sat on the FIFA referees committee (for eg. World Cup 2010), and in addition, worked in both Czech Republic and Armenia as their head of elite refereeing. I find Listkiewicz an interesting person - for instance, against protocol, as part of his work at France 1998, he entered the field of play in FIFA jacket and, visible to the world, shook the hands of the trio led by Urs Meier who had just called the United States vs. Iran match, very well in both FIFA's and my opinion. Listkiewicz still works in television commenting on reffing matters, including during UEFA EURO 2020.
Armando Pérez Hoyos, whose day job was as a mathematics teacher, would resume his career as 'main referee' after the tournament. He was in quite a tight race to referee games at World Cup 1994, but was ultimately beaten by the referee of the Barcelona 1992 final, José Torres Cadena. Any Colombian referee of this period had to have quite some nerve to perform his duties - the influence of the drugs trade on their football is storied, including the utterly desperate and tragic murder of referee Álvaro Ortega Madero (he was nine shot times in a car returning from a match, where World Cup 1986 attendee Jesús Díaz was travelling with him). In his games at Italia '90, I indeed had the impression that Pérez Hoyos was a very strong-willed person. It would have been interesting to see him take the whistle for a match.
Finally, Peter Mikkelsen completed an excellent Italia '90 final with his reserve referee appointment, and he would go on to be one of the very top international referees of the 1990s. He was famously in the race to referee the next World Cup final in 1994 right until the very end, but ultimately lost to Sándor Puhl. Mikkelsen was heavily involved in FIFA refereeing after his retirement, and was very well-regarded by colleagues as a dedicated and kind person. Tragically, Mikkelsen died of cancer in January 2019. RIP.
Balance
John Motson, reacting to Argentina's mobbing of referee Edgardo Codesal after he had sent off a second of their players, declared - "you can't have this in the final". I believe he managed to sum up the views of the watching world for whom the ill-tempered (finish to the) final was the final straw for a defensively-orientated and rather tedious World Cup. While such games are all part of the fun at a major tournament, such an unedifying spectacle in the final itself was deeply unsatisfying for the football world. Indeed, though for television and broadcasting (and indeed the teams), Italia '90 paved the way for modern football as we know it, for the refereeing, the tournament proved a caesura. FIFA knew that change was necessary, with this anti-football final proving to be the image of a tournament whose play was pretty disappointing.
The man who refereed it had a very tough job. Argentina were a very challenging team to handle, and Codesal faced some really tricky incidents in football's most important match. FIFA appointed to naturalised-Mexican on the basis of his performance in the Cameroon against England quarterfinal, and on that premise, I believe they got the refereeing that they could have expected. For better and for worse. While both red cards were judged as pretty harsh by the football public at the time, in my opinion, both were simply excellent calls by Codesal of great merit. Though I'd quite strongly back him up on the two 'no penalty' calls which came prior to the spot kick he did give with seven minutes remaining, one can ask whether the World Cup final really should be 'decided' by an offence like that.
Codesal was an interesting choice for the final. Influenced deeply by his father, a former top referee, I saw his whole way of refereeing as a rather 'dutiful' one, not just in big calls. My view on his performance is pretty mixed, I guess. One can wonder whether FIFA regretted his appointment to the grandest stage - not for the technical shortfalls which I outline - but rather for in the catholic world of football refereeing's personalities, that they put their biggest match in the hands of the sacrosanct official in their midst. In many (many) ways - not just for the refereeing - I'd say that Italia '90 had a pretty fitting finale indeed.
The man who refereed it had a very tough job. Argentina were a very challenging team to handle, and Codesal faced some really tricky incidents in football's most important match. FIFA appointed to naturalised-Mexican on the basis of his performance in the Cameroon against England quarterfinal, and on that premise, I believe they got the refereeing that they could have expected. For better and for worse. While both red cards were judged as pretty harsh by the football public at the time, in my opinion, both were simply excellent calls by Codesal of great merit. Though I'd quite strongly back him up on the two 'no penalty' calls which came prior to the spot kick he did give with seven minutes remaining, one can ask whether the World Cup final really should be 'decided' by an offence like that.
Codesal was an interesting choice for the final. Influenced deeply by his father, a former top referee, I saw his whole way of refereeing as a rather 'dutiful' one, not just in big calls. My view on his performance is pretty mixed, I guess. One can wonder whether FIFA regretted his appointment to the grandest stage - not for the technical shortfalls which I outline - but rather for in the catholic world of football refereeing's personalities, that they put their biggest match in the hands of the sacrosanct official in their midst. In many (many) ways - not just for the refereeing - I'd say that Italia '90 had a pretty fitting finale indeed.
| Edgardo Codesal (MEX) Michał Listkiewicz (POL) Armando Pérez Hoyos (COL) Peter Mikkelsen (DEN) Officials | Argentina 0-1 West Germany Final Sunday 8th July at 8pm (Rome) |
 Dezotti (6') - Dissent Troglio (84') - Dissent Maradona (88') - Dissent | Völler (53') - Dissent |
 Monzón (65') - Serious Foul Play Dezotti (87') - Violent Conduct | |
| FIFA World Cup 1990 Winners: West Germany | |
